Kobo has a new e-reader that is going to be released sometime soon. Manufacturing has ramped up and the company has just obtained FCC certification, which is the last step they have to make before it is released in the United States. In preparation for a new product, Kobo has redesigned their e-reader landing page on their website. It lists some of the key selling features, without having to click on an individual product. I believe this new design is a major step forward for people to feel comfortable buying from Kobo online, without having to go through one one of their other partners.
One of the best things about this new landing page, is that they no longer list e-readers that were discontinued, such as the Kobo Aura H2O or the Kobo Aura Limited Edition, two products that haven’t been in stock for six months or more. I believe the new system is easier to mange, so adding or removing products would be simple for Kobo.
It will be very interesting to see what type of new e-reader that Kobo is cooking. The only thing we do know is that it has 32GB of storage, WIFI and Bluetooth, which likely means it will have audiobook functionality, so users can plugin a pair of wireless headphones and listen to audiobooks they have purchased through one of Kobos apps, or would buy directly on the e-reader. It would also be interesting if people could borrowing audiobooks from the public library, since all Kobo e-readers have Overdrive integration.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.